After talking with media about his new $25.5 million contract, Ducks player Bobby Ryan posed for photos at the at the Honda Center, Tuesday September 10, 2010. "I'm very elated and excited to move into the season and next five years here in Anaheim," he said.

Bobby Ryan and the Ducks agreed to a five-year contract worth $25.5 million it was announced Tuesday.

Bobby Ryan signed for five years with the Ducks on Tuesday.

After talking with media about his new $25.5 million contract, Ducks player Bobby Ryan posed for photos at the at the Honda Center, Tuesday.

Ducks player Bobby Ryan can call the Honda Center his home for at least the next five years after sgining with the Ducks on Tuesday.

After his new $25.5 million contract was announced, Ducks player Bobby Ryan posed for photos and checked his messages at the at the Honda Center Tuesday.

ANAHEIM – Months ago, it was fine for Bobby Ryan to wait and see what was possible heading into his first big contract. And if it meant drawing a hard line at times with the Ducks in negotiations, then so be it.

Training camp eventually appeared around the corner instead of being off in the distance and with contract talks essentially at a standstill, Ryan decided that it was up to him to find a way to break through the impasse.

The club’s top young sniper drove both sides back to the table for nearly two weeks of discussions and the payoff was a five-year deal worth $25.5 million that pleased both sides as he signed the contract Tuesday.

Negotiations on a long-term extension stalled over the summer. The Ducks wanted to sign Ryan for five years; he wanted three. He turned down a $25 million offer in June, which irked GM Bob Murray.

But with the club set to take their physicals Friday and open training camp Saturday, Ryan said he looked ahead and saw the need to talk directly to Murray and get the club back to talking with his agent, Don Meehan, before Labor Day.

“I spoke with Bob Murray probably four or five times in the last week at the least and he told me where he was at and some things he thought needed to be addressed with the team,” Ryan said. “I said, ‘We’re on the same page. Ultimately we’re on the same side.”

“We did come to things together. My agent was certainly in on it. He felt like it’s a win-win situation. I was just happy to do right by both sides.”

The Ducks also didn’t want Ryan’s contract situation and a possible holdout becoming a distraction heading into the season.

“That’s why we spoke to Bobby a couple of times here down the stretch,” Murray said. “I reached out to him and said, ‘Look, history is not on the side of the guy sitting out a little bit. It doesn’t work well for the team or the player.’

“Bobby’s become a really good team guy. He understood that. He was pushing to get this done as much as I was.”

Ryan said a key reason why he dropped his demand for a shorter deal was finding out if fellow high-profile forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry were eager to remain in Anaheim after their contracts expire in 2013. The Ducks did not want to sign all three in one summer.

“I understood after speaking with Bob Murray a few times why he did not want to do that,” Ryan said. “Getzlaf and Perry are up at that time. They would like me to hold down the fort in case one of those guys goes elsewhere. The biggest thing for me was trying to figure out where those guys were going to be moving in three years.

“After speaking with those guys, they are both committed to this team and organization. I felt a lot better doing a five-year deal.”

Murray called it “a very fair contract” and expressed his hope that it works out for both Ryan and the Ducks. But he also revealed how adamant he was to get the winger locked up long term.

“I think it was critical to get five years,” he said. “He’s a really good, young hockey player. He’s part of our future … a big part of our future. So I was always trying to get to the five years. I understood exactly what they were doing.”

Holding out was Ryan’s only leverage as a restricted free agent but it wasn’t an option in the winger’s mind, especially since he has been regularly working out with teammates.

“I was more concerned about it than I think anybody else was,” Ryan said. “It’s tough to look guys in the eye and feel like part of a team when you’re the main reason things aren’t progressing.

“At the end of the day, I’m happy that I don’t have to miss a single day on the ice with the guys because I think that’s really what it’s all about.”

The Ducks still have a shade below $5.8 million left under the salary cap and multiple sources report they could be closing in a deal with veteran defenseman Paul Mara, who played last season with Montreal.

While not speaking about Mara, Murray did address a question about any other possible moves by saying, “we’ve got a couple of little things that we’re looking at, that’s all.”

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